The General has withdrawn from posting on the forums, Vital, BT & H&V and I will miss him.
It appears all the fuss and bother this week and the hyping of his comments have made him withdraw and I really regret that. Maybe he should have not said anything about Houllier but what he said as I posted I thought were fine. Because of the press misreading or deliberately doing so as Villa fans we have lost a valuable communication line even if some thought it was spin and bluster.
This is his post on VT
I believe that the time has come to take a break. NOT because I am concerned about the “good, bad and ugly” that might come from the thread but, rather, because any comments I make become cannon fodder for the media…and that media has no qualms about twisting my words to be incendiary. At the end of the day, this does not help the Club nor does it help the Fans.
Villa Talk is a hugely important site…and one that has had a major impact on how the Club has proceeded over the past few years. Like Vital Villa and Heroes and Villains, Villa Talk has been important to me personally and to the Club. Every member should be proud of what they have accomplished over the years. I have grown to appreciate, respect and admire those who have taken the time to post on my thread…even though some of the posts could be pretty rough at times. As I have said many times, you pay for your ticket, you have the right to comment!
For those who have thought that I was only a PR stunt for the Club or a “spin-meister”…believe me, you are wrong. I have tried, at all times, to be honest and straight forward on every subject. I have given my honest opinion at all times and have attempted to make the distinction between me as a Fan and me as a Board Member. Unfortunately, the media has never been able to make that distinction and that has been THE problem.
As General Douglas McArthur said, “I shall return”.
Aston Villa News 24/7
He was too honest for his own good! He can connect with supporters however his comments are indeed canon fodder for the media as there is no-one else like him in the EPL talking to fans from his level of influence. I’m sure he’ll still read our comments as its addictive so keep posting lads!
What a pity…
His words were destined for the fans and not for lazy journos. We have lost valuable communication channel linking us with the club.
I hope he will be back one day.
Since RL and board took over we have had a club that actually listens to us and the General was a important link to the thinking our clubs management, We should appreciate what they have tried to give us. a club to be proud of. GH should be allowed to restructure the team before we start throwing stones. The club is already giving us a taste of the future with giving new deals to all our talented youth. Clark will be a villa captain and Albrighton and Bannan Legends . Hogg looks like another Des Bremner, a brilliant tackler. GH needs time and goals from senior players who have not taken their chances. In return we want from GH is loyalty and passion for Aston Villa to win every game.
Not surprised he withdrew. The board have done virtually everything we could have dreamed of when they took over from Doug Ellis. Yet some of the vitriol and abuse aimed at them by some small minded fans on those chat sites has been nothing short of despicable. I don’t think their has been any spin until now. I suspect now he is fed up with ungrateful idiots!
I agree Jon. I stopped posting on there because the abuse was too embarrassing and I always felt like bosting some of them up.
Half of it must have been coming from schoolkids acting big and there were definitely bluenoses winding him up because proportionately the views weren’t representative of Villa fans. Even now when I see Villa referred to as “our great club” followed by abuse, on a forum I am suspicious.
I tried to tell him not to indulge the idiots but I think your comments get lost in all the shitty insults.
When the going gets tough the tough get gone!
It makes me laugh that he uses the press excuse to back “retreat” when they are only doing their job. The headlines are always sensationalist to get you to read on but they the quote HIS written words and if he can’t stand by them then better he does go.
He will be back though just as things are coming good, I very much doubt he will need to comment on GH again as he will long be gone.
Yeah they quoted his words but they took them out of context completely. Did you read the article in question? It made the General sound like he was ridiculing GH.
I agree startin, I thought his comments were fine, he refused to whitewash what happened, maybe that is what upset Houllier. Maybe Houllier wanted a white wash and it was clear the general was saying up to Houllier to explain himself.
Houllier’s explanation was weak and watching the exceprt of his press conference on the BBC website, how many really think he is in full control ?
[...] As General Douglas McArthur said, “I shall return”. This entry was posted in Aston Villa Blogs, News. Bookmark the permalink. [...]
Read his words and the press quotes Startin, please quote where they took him out of context? As besides the headlines to get you to read I didn’t see much to get overly sensitive about.
He said he didn’t understand what GH was doing at Anfield or what was going on in his mind which is what the press reported. If you interpret it as an attack on GH then I guess you fell for how the reporters wanted you to think, personally I think he questioned what had happened and wanted us to know how that he felt as let down as we do.
That said I would have more respect for the General if he were to stand by his words rather than retreat as he is doing because it’s defiantly going to get much worse starting today if we don’t beat The Baggies, as I wrote “when the going get tough the tough get gone” just when the club might need someone to hear/pass on just how our fan base feel.
I’m not surprised he’s decided to pack it in, some of the replies to his posts were disrespectful, and even insulting, I would imagine he wanted to tell some of the morons on there to f**k off.
It might have been much easier if he made statements with no reply facility, trouble is the said morons would complain they couldn’t slag him off.
What a pity. I only wish Houllier had shown half as much passion and enthusiasm for our club. Your honesty will ALWAYS be appreciated by the real Villa fans, General.
UP THE VILLA!
The general will be a great loss as he has many,many times,said what a lot of us fans have been thinking,from his posts he comes across as a very honest genuine man,unlike the manager that we now have but thats another story!!!!!!!!!!!!
General don’t stay away too long.
[...] Farewell to the General for a while, will miss you The General has withdrawn from posting on the forums, Vital, BT & H&V and I will miss him. [...] [...]
The General is a waste of space if he calls himself a PR man….he talks rubbish
Maybe Lerner himself needs to start communicating better rather than hiding behind the Brown’s as a smoke screen for his own masterplan.